I am no optics expert by any means. However, I've been trying to decide myself what would be best. You want packable, so the "big eyes" are out.

Have you looked at the Kowa 60 - 66 with prominar ED lenses? This will be right around your price point, at least the 60 will be. I don't know this first hand, but from what I've heard and read, this glass is mighty hard to beat.

Others have really recommended the Nikon Fieldscope ED50.

Hopefully those with much more knowledge than me will stop by and offer up their thoughts.

If you want small and light, go with the NIkon ED50. It is really, really small, and really good optically (especially with the 27x eyepiece). If you want a noticeable increase in performance, you are going to have to skip the 65mm scopes and go right to the 80mm+ scopes, IMO. I just went backpacking for several nights and hauled around my Vortex Razor HD85, and it wasn't nearly as cumbersome as I thought it would be. Of course, my hunting partner carried the tripod, so we could split the load.

The Leupy Gold Ring 60mm spotter is, and has been, a great spotter in a tough, compact package. It would serve you well.

However, The ED50 gives up very little in optical performance, and is even smaller and lighter that the Leupy. the ED50 is available with several eyepieces, including a 13-40 zoom and 27x wide angle fixed power eyepiece.

The disadvantage to zooms is they have a much narrower field of view at the same magnification of a fixed eyepiece. Fixed eyepieces offer a wide field of view and slightly sharper image. Yes, the Kowa 30x would be fixed at 30x.

Thanks BitterrootBulls. It seems I have a lot to learn. From a hunting perspective I've always used a variable scope on lower power setting to expand field of view and then zoom in when needing to get more detail. Do you use this technique or do you use a fixed eyepiece? If the latter can you comment on the pros/cons on these two different spotting techniques?

By the way...I did most of my growing up in the Bitterroot before relocating to Idaho. I still get back that way once or twice a year. Beautiful country.

Darius,if in fact you will be doing alot of hunting in the rockies,although both the scopes BB mentioned are excellant,they may not get you the long distance eye balling you may need.Try & check them out before you purchase, just to make sure they will meet your requirements!

Since weight seems to be critical: have you looked at the new Vortex Recon scope + doubler? The recon scope can be had for about $550 in 15x50, and weighs 15 oz! The Vortex doubler costs about $150, weighs a few ounces, and fits on the Recon.

Full disclosure - I have not tried it - but I have been wondering abt using it that way:-)

The Kowa 663/664 is exceptionally good. However, if I were backpacking around big game hunting I'd go with the Leupold GR HD 12-40x60 and never look back. The Kowa has a little better glass, but the Leupold is the toughest on the planet and has great glass itself. Best eye relief in the business also.

I do use a variable zoom eyepiece. I use the Vortex Razor 85HD w/ 20-60 zoom. I like having the extra magnification at certain times. The Vortex really isn't terrible to lug around the woods. I have lately been digiscoping a lot, even while hunting, and the large objective is pretty much a requirement for that.

That said, I am currently looking into supplementing the Razor with a Nikon ED50 and 27x fixed eyepiece. I have used this combination on several outings over the past two years, and I can not stress enough how stunning the image is for a 50mm objective. When I say it is light, it is LIGHT!

Even when glassing long distances (up to 2 miles) I think most people would be amazed at how much you can see through the Nikon.

When compared to the Nikon ED50, it will cost you a lot of weight, size, and money to improve the view to the excellent image the Razor produces.

I will say the Leupy is about as compact as you can get in a 60mm scope and produces an image quite comparable to the Kowas of similar configuration. It is also robustly built.

That same forum thread has been scaring me off for a while now, too. However, I have now spoken to enough satisfied ED50 owners, to be fairly confident that the ED50 is reasonably durable. There are trade-offs with every spotter. If you want a high performance waterproof lightweight scope, the ED50 fits the bill, just take care of it.

I would not let the photo of the Nikon 50ED scope bother me. You can break any scope if you try hard enough. I have carried my Nikon 13-30x 50ED for some time and I have not had any problems with it. The glass is excellent. I also have a Pentax 80ED but find I use it less and less since I purchased my Nikon. For more comments on the 50ED do a search on this form for them.

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